BOGOTA, Nov 30 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — The National Heritage Council of Colombia gave its approval for the inclusion of champeta, a musical genre and movement born in Cartagena, on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation.
Following this approval, the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Knowledge announced that a declaration will be issued recognizing that it is not only about dance and music, but also highlighting its relationship with 11 other artistic expressions present within its universe.
The presentation of the Special Safeguarding Plan (a document that outlines the technical, community, and cultural pathway to ensure that these expressions remain alive) was led by the Roztro Foundation of Cartagena.
“This is an achievement for our communities and is the result of a process to ensure that people don’t just understand champeta as a dance or as music. It is something that transcends and is part of the identity of the Caribbean,” emphasized Viviano Torres, a promoter of the art form.
Champeta is a Colombian musical genre and cultural movement that emerged in the working-class neighborhoods and Afro-Colombian communities of Cartagena de Indias and the country’s Caribbean coast, with origins dating back to the 1970s.
Today considered an expression of the cultural identity and social resistance of Afro-Colombian communities, it developed from the influence of African musical genres (such as soukous, African rumba, and highlife), as well as Caribbean rhythms like reggae, calypso, and dancehall. It combines elements of percussion, bass, electric guitar, synthesizers, and keyboards, while its dance is uninhibited, energetic, with hip movements and coordinated steps.
Champeta lyrics often tell stories of daily life, struggles, resistance, empowerment, and the identity of working-class communities, using local and colloquial language. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA